The French subjunctive is a grammatical mood used to express subjectivity, doubt, or emotion.

It’s an essential part of sounding natural when speaking the language.

You can easily understand the subjunctive by memorizing its specific trigger phrases.

Every subjunctive sentence requires two different subjects separated by the word que.

The first part of the sentence contains the trigger, and the second part contains the subjunctive verb.

I’ll show you exactly how to identify these triggers and conjugate the verbs correctly.

What is the French subjunctive?

The subjunctive is a mood rather than a tense.

Tenses tell you when an action happens, like the past or the future.

Moods tell you how the speaker feels about the action.

The subjunctive mood shows that an action is subjective, uncertain, or influenced by emotion.

You’ll almost always see the subjunctive used in a dependent clause introduced by que (that).

There must also be a change of subject between the main clause and the dependent clause.

If the subject remains the same, you simply use an infinitive verb instead.

How to conjugate regular subjunctive verbs

Forming the subjunctive is actually quite simple for regular verbs.

You start by taking the present tense ils/elles form of the verb.

Next, you drop the -ent ending to find your subjunctive stem.

Finally, you add the specific subjunctive endings to this stem.

These endings are the same for all regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs.

Here are the standard French subjunctive endings:

Let’s look at the regular verb parler (to speak) as an example.

The ils/elles present tense form is parlent.

We drop the -ent to get our stem, which is parl-.

Now we add the subjunctive endings:

Keep in mind that a few common verbs have highly irregular subjunctive stems.

The most important irregular subjunctive verbs to memorize are être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to do).

Common French subjunctive triggers by category

You’ll know exactly when to use the subjunctive if you learn its triggers.

A trigger is simply the phrase in the main clause that expresses the emotion, doubt, or necessity.

I’ve grouped the most common triggers into logical categories to help you remember them.

Expressions of necessity and obligation

These triggers express that something must happen or is required.

The most common trigger in the entire French language falls into this category.

It’s the phrase il faut que (it is necessary that).

• Il faut que (It is necessary that / One must)
• Il est essentiel que (It is essential that)
• Il est important que (It is important that)

Here’s how you use necessity triggers in a sentence:

Expressions of emotion and feeling

Any phrase that expresses fear, joy, sadness, or surprise will trigger the subjunctive.

This happens because emotions are entirely subjective.

• Je suis content que (I am happy that)
• Il est triste que (It is sad that)
• J’ai peur que (I am afraid that)
• Je suis surpris que (I am surprised that)

Let’s look at some examples of emotion triggers:

Expressions of doubt and possibility

When you’re not completely sure about a fact, you must use the subjunctive.

These triggers show that an outcome is possible but not guaranteed.

• Il est possible que (It is possible that)
• Je doute que (I doubt that)
• Il se peut que (It may be that)

Here are examples of doubt triggers in action:

Expressions of desire and will

Phrases that express wishes, desires, or orders require the subjunctive.

You’re imposing your will on someone else’s actions.

• Je veux que (I want that)
• Je préfère que (I prefer that)
• Je souhaite que (I wish that)
• J’aimerais que (I would like that)

Here’s how you use desire triggers:

Expressions that do not trigger the subjunctive

It’s equally important to know which phrases don’t take the subjunctive.

Expressions that declare a certainty, a strong belief, or a clear fact take the indicative mood instead.

The indicative mood is just the normal present tense.

• Je pense que (I think that)
• Je crois que (I believe that)
• Il est certain que (It is certain that)
• Il est clair que (It is clear that)

Because you’re stating what you believe to be a concrete fact, no subjunctive is needed.

However, if you make these same phrases negative, they introduce doubt.

Negative expressions of belief do trigger the subjunctive.

Regional variations and avoiding the subjunctive

The way the subjunctive is used can vary depending on where you are in the Francophone world.

In spoken Metropolitan French, native speakers often look for ways to avoid the subjunctive.

They do this by restructuring the sentence to use an infinitive verb instead.

You can easily avoid the subjunctive if you make the subject the same in both clauses.

Instead of saying Je veux que je parte (I want that I leave), you simply say Je veux partir (I want to leave).

You can also use prepositions like de to bypass the subjunctive structure completely.

In Canadian French, specifically in Quebec, the subjunctive remains incredibly common in daily speech.

Quebecers frequently use conjunctions like pour que (so that) and bien que (although) followed by the subjunctive.

They also have a few regional trigger variations.

For example, you might hear a Quebecer say Ça prend que instead of Il faut que to express necessity.

Both expressions strictly require the subjunctive mood.

Pay close attention to these triggers when listening to native speakers.